Ok, well reading in some other places, it seems this is a huge problem all around. I'm trying to get some tips for my folks, who are having ongoing labor problems and it's killing their small business.
It just seems they CANNOT find good help these days. They own two small cellular phone stores and the quality of the help they get is just astonishingly low (to me). I have worked in healthcare for the last 16 years or so, most of it in a professional capacity, so most of my co-workers have been a denominator-level above their average worker in level of both training and aspiration... however...
Initially, they paid well above minimum wage.. they were starting people at $8.00/hr to work the salesfloor selling phones, and they pay a bonus commission, as well, when sales are over a set amount, based on the day's sales figures. When minimum wage went up, they couldn't keep up, as their annual sales have dropped the last 3 years in a row. I think now, they're starting at $8.50 plus bonuses, but they are pretty generous with raises, with anyone who stays more than 6 months usually ending up in the $10/hr range, if they're doing a good job (which is rare).
The thing that just kills me is the laziness... people calling in several times a week multiple weeks in a row, calling in their FIRST week on the job, taking long lunches, some even leaving the store and going to lunch without telling the bosses (my parents). Sending text messages to "call in", then not showing up the following day, either. Stupidity... I mean, it's not rocket-science to learn the functions of cell phones, study the features, etc., and generally actually try to be FRIENDLY to customers.
The dishonesty is astonishing as well... I can count more employees who have stolen from them than employees who haven't! It's a business where they have the opportunity to let things "walk out" the door and they don't get caught for some time, as inventory is always in flux and infrequently checked. Honesty is not just in short supply, it seems to be practically non-existent! Lies, coverups, hiding mistakes, blatantly stealing from the money drawer (with video cameras right on you!), etc.
The drug and alcohol abuse is rampant, as well. I can't count how many they've had to let go for being high ON THE JOB. Like, leave at lunch and come back high. REALLY?!?!?! I mean, REALLY?!?!?!
They've tried numerous options for finding good help... word of mouth, hiring people who have been long-time customers and are very tech-savvy, advertising on radio and newspaper, using temp agencies, etc. Many people seem somewhat excited when they start, but within a week, two at the MOST, they've gotten lazy and comfortable and spend more time talking and texting on their own cell phones than selling to customers. Even with customers standing in the store waiting to be helped!
The difficulty with professional dress kills me... It's not a strict policy... long pants, no jeans, no sandals, clean and well-groomed, no T-shirts. But we regularly log into the video cameras on the weekends and evenings and see their employees looking like they just came in from the lake wearing slippers, shorts and ballcaps, greasy, not washed, smelly, etc. One tech they have has such a problem with B.O. and halitosis they are embarrassed to have him cover the salesfloor for breaks and lunches. Should you have to remind a 25+ y/o man that if he weighs 250+ pounds he really needs to try to look presentable and smell better than the pizza-joint's dumpster out back???
We've talked about many things to try to help them whip the employees into shape... from going to uniforms, like a simple solid-color polo shirt with a company logo and khaki pants, to being less understanding about taking time off for family and personal issues (sick kid, car broke down, etc.), but they have a hard time being jerks when people seem to have legitimate issues. But that seems to just snowball until they're being totally taken advantage of to the point of them (the owners) having to work weekends because their employees can't be bothered. They've hired college students, single and married parents, ex-military, older workers (40s-50s) who have been displaced... even giving second chances to former employees who cleaned up their acts and came back in claiming they learned their lesson and really liked working there and would be more attentive this time. And that usually works... for a few months... then they're back to old habits and even worse.
I feel for them, I really do... their business is suffering horribly from lack of continuity, poor customer care, in-house theft, and they're working themselves to death trying to keep up with it all, all while being KILLED by the tax burden the .gov puts on small businesses.
What are ya'll's experiences, and what methods have you found for weeding out the bad eggs and finding and keeping good help? I realize this is all a symptom of the attitudes of apathy, entitlement and greed so pervasive in our society, but I'm seriously in despair... and so are they. Is there NO WAY to find good workers these days????
It just seems they CANNOT find good help these days. They own two small cellular phone stores and the quality of the help they get is just astonishingly low (to me). I have worked in healthcare for the last 16 years or so, most of it in a professional capacity, so most of my co-workers have been a denominator-level above their average worker in level of both training and aspiration... however...
Initially, they paid well above minimum wage.. they were starting people at $8.00/hr to work the salesfloor selling phones, and they pay a bonus commission, as well, when sales are over a set amount, based on the day's sales figures. When minimum wage went up, they couldn't keep up, as their annual sales have dropped the last 3 years in a row. I think now, they're starting at $8.50 plus bonuses, but they are pretty generous with raises, with anyone who stays more than 6 months usually ending up in the $10/hr range, if they're doing a good job (which is rare).
The thing that just kills me is the laziness... people calling in several times a week multiple weeks in a row, calling in their FIRST week on the job, taking long lunches, some even leaving the store and going to lunch without telling the bosses (my parents). Sending text messages to "call in", then not showing up the following day, either. Stupidity... I mean, it's not rocket-science to learn the functions of cell phones, study the features, etc., and generally actually try to be FRIENDLY to customers.
The dishonesty is astonishing as well... I can count more employees who have stolen from them than employees who haven't! It's a business where they have the opportunity to let things "walk out" the door and they don't get caught for some time, as inventory is always in flux and infrequently checked. Honesty is not just in short supply, it seems to be practically non-existent! Lies, coverups, hiding mistakes, blatantly stealing from the money drawer (with video cameras right on you!), etc.
The drug and alcohol abuse is rampant, as well. I can't count how many they've had to let go for being high ON THE JOB. Like, leave at lunch and come back high. REALLY?!?!?! I mean, REALLY?!?!?!
They've tried numerous options for finding good help... word of mouth, hiring people who have been long-time customers and are very tech-savvy, advertising on radio and newspaper, using temp agencies, etc. Many people seem somewhat excited when they start, but within a week, two at the MOST, they've gotten lazy and comfortable and spend more time talking and texting on their own cell phones than selling to customers. Even with customers standing in the store waiting to be helped!
The difficulty with professional dress kills me... It's not a strict policy... long pants, no jeans, no sandals, clean and well-groomed, no T-shirts. But we regularly log into the video cameras on the weekends and evenings and see their employees looking like they just came in from the lake wearing slippers, shorts and ballcaps, greasy, not washed, smelly, etc. One tech they have has such a problem with B.O. and halitosis they are embarrassed to have him cover the salesfloor for breaks and lunches. Should you have to remind a 25+ y/o man that if he weighs 250+ pounds he really needs to try to look presentable and smell better than the pizza-joint's dumpster out back???
We've talked about many things to try to help them whip the employees into shape... from going to uniforms, like a simple solid-color polo shirt with a company logo and khaki pants, to being less understanding about taking time off for family and personal issues (sick kid, car broke down, etc.), but they have a hard time being jerks when people seem to have legitimate issues. But that seems to just snowball until they're being totally taken advantage of to the point of them (the owners) having to work weekends because their employees can't be bothered. They've hired college students, single and married parents, ex-military, older workers (40s-50s) who have been displaced... even giving second chances to former employees who cleaned up their acts and came back in claiming they learned their lesson and really liked working there and would be more attentive this time. And that usually works... for a few months... then they're back to old habits and even worse.
I feel for them, I really do... their business is suffering horribly from lack of continuity, poor customer care, in-house theft, and they're working themselves to death trying to keep up with it all, all while being KILLED by the tax burden the .gov puts on small businesses.
What are ya'll's experiences, and what methods have you found for weeding out the bad eggs and finding and keeping good help? I realize this is all a symptom of the attitudes of apathy, entitlement and greed so pervasive in our society, but I'm seriously in despair... and so are they. Is there NO WAY to find good workers these days????
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